Well, I just went outside to loosen my VC bolts and re-tighten them with the right torque. I loosened them just fine, but now they don't seem to want to re-tighten?! The bolts aren't biting into the track it seems... anyone know why or how to make them thighten again? Sorry about the dumb question, I'm just clueless as to what's going on.

 

Are you talking about the nuts (caps) or the studs? Stripped?

 

I think I mean the studs..I'm gonna go take a picture of it

 

It seems like the really long ones with the threading at the end BROKE at the tip when I was loosening them...so I think I might have to drive over to Honda in a different car and get some new ones. How will I manage to get the tip of the bolts that broke off out of the fittings? this sucks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by victor.m &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think I mean the studs..<FONT COLOR="red">I'm gonna go take a picture of it</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Okay sory, here are some pictures. Pretty sure they've broken :/ Can't take the VC off yet as car is too hot..damn Florida weather, it's crazy sunny outside. Have to wait 'til my dad gets here to take his car down to Honda and get new bolts.













So, pretty broken aren't they? :/ will it be easy to remove the broken parts from inside?

thanks a lot

 

These are a pain in the *** sometimes...... if they broke down inside the hole. If they are, you will need to drill and use a tap to reverse them out. BTW I would just go to a junk yard to get the bolts. Most junk yards will just give them to you. Good luck

 

Thanks, I'll try a junkyard but I really need to get this fixed today as I need the car functional by tomorrow..and have to wait until my dad gets back from work to use his car, so dealership might be my only option..hopefully they aren't TOO expensive.

 

Do you already have the tools to remove the broken ends out of the head? Because if you don't, it's not gonna matter if you can make it to the dealer or the junkyard today. I've had the same thing happen to me once or twice. It is a pain but it's hit or miss, sometimes they come out easy and sometime they don't.

 

I have a drill..what else should I get? My autozone/discout auto is open 'til 9 so I think I have time to buy whatever I need. Thanks for all the help, heading down to Honda now to get the bolts and maybe a couple of other things.

 

They should have the extractor bit set at your local Sears or Home Depot or similar shops. Autozone might sell the bit sets too and possibly even have a set for that they loan out.

The set should look similar to this:



I have a smaller set, only 3 bits but they work.

 

Wow, you've got some work ahead of you, that sucks man.

 

Well thanks for all the advice guys, I got them out. All 4 of them. Took me all day to carefully drill the holes and use the removers, but they came out. Ordered new bolts and a gasket set from Honda just to be safe. Should arrive on Saturday, and them I'll torque them properly and should be all set.

 

Congrats! One piece of advice though, be careful when you torque them. The spec that they are supposed to be tightened to may not actually register on your torque wrench. I did that once before, kept turning because my torque wrench wasn't clicking. Needless to say, I kept turning until the bolt finally snapped. Personally, I just hand tighten them now.

 

Torque for them is 7lb/ft according to the manual. Luckily my torque wrench is adjustable, so it clicks when it reaches the torque. Gonna do it on Saturday and be extra careful..feeling good about the new bolts and gasket set, though. Making it all fresh.

 

That's exactly what I'm talking about. I set my torque wrench accordingly, but 7 ft/lbs is nothing, and it didn't click even once. Just be careful if you don't hear it click LOL

 

Haha yah well I'll be sure to pay extra attention..definitely don't wanna snap these again! Taking them out was quite a piece of work. Thanks for the support!